TED WYMAN, QMI AGENCY

SOCHI, RUSSIA - Four years after Jon Montgomery put Canada on the skeleton map with a beer-guzzling gold medal in Vancouver, the country appears likely to be shut out of the Sochi 2014 medals.

The Canadian women, Sarah Reid and Mellisa Hollingsworth, finished seventh and 11th respectively in the women's skeleton, while John Fairbairn and Eric Neilson are eighth and 12th respectively after the first two runs of the men's event.

The results are disappointing for Canada, particularly Hollingsworth, who won a bronze medal in Turin in 2006 and was a gold-medal favourite in Vancouver before she struggled on her last run and finished fifth.

"It's not what I was expected for sure," Hollingsworth, a 33-year-old from Eckville, Alta., said. "I was stubborn, I didn't quit but I didn't get the result I wanted."

Hollingsworth did say she will quit now though.

"That was my last run down a skeleton track," she said.

"I've been doing this for 19 years and I'm ready for the next challenge. I'm definitely going to be working with horses. The past couple of days have been frustrating, to say the least."

Elizabeth Yarnold of Great Britain repeated as gold medallist.

Reid, who started the day in eighth, finished 1.84 seconds back, while Hollingsworth, who started 15th, wound up 3.32 seconds behind the winner.

For Reid, a 26-year-old from Calgary, the Olympic experience is just beginning.

"All of this is pretty overwhelming and it's amazing to be here," she said. "I'm pretty proud of myself. This has been a huge learning experience for me."

"I will be back for sure. I love this sport and I love these people."

Fairbairn has a time of 1:54.26 after two runs and sits 2.27 seconds behind leader Alexander Tretiatakov of Russia. Neilson has a time of 1:54.42 and is 2:43 seconds back.